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The Super Eagles
head into today’s game against Greece, aware that defeat in
Bloemfontein will almost certainly spell the end of their World Cup
dreams after their damaging opening defeat at the hands of Argentina.

The Super Eagles
went down 1-0 to the Argentines last Saturday in Johannesburg, the same
day the Greeks fell 2-0 to South Korea, which also leaves the Greeks in
a desperate need of points to keep their tournament hope alive.

Super Eagles’
striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, believes the solution to overcoming their
opponents lies in an offensive approach to the game.

“We have to attack with panache and at the same time, defend with resolution. There will be no mercy,” he said.

The Everton forward put in a hardworking display against the Argentines and speaking to Fifa.com, said:

“We didn’t play
many warm-up games before we got here, but we got better in each one
and our rhythm has gotten better and better. If we keep the same spirit
and mentality, we can go through to the next round at least.”

Possible changes

Coach Lars
Lagerback hinted at possible changes from the team that started against
Argentina at Ellis Park, but he kept all firmly to his chest as he
addressed the post-training press conference on Wednesday. But Osaze
Odemwingie may likely take the place of Chinedu Obasi, while Obafemi
Martins may take the place of Obinna Nsofor, after coming on as a
substitute against Argentina.

The Greeks, under
Otto Rehhagel, are a pragmatic side and have been known to play as many
as five defenders if necessary in a game. But the German-born coach may
likely start with a 4-3-3 formation today and is expected to recall
centre-back, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, to the starting line-up after he left
the Liverpool defender out of the game against the Koreans.

The opening
ceremony of the first World Cup to be held in Africa did not
disappoint: Soccer City in Johannesburg came alive with the vibrant
sounds of Africa. The richness of the continent’s culture was allowed
to shine through without subjecting us to the stereotypical African
fare.

Especially loved
the large pieces of African fabric held up to make a map of our
wonderfully diverse continent. With that as a prelude, one was rather
expecting some excitement afterwards. It’s early days yet but the
tournament so far seems to be lacking a certain ‘je ne sais quoi.’ It’s
bad enough that a large number of fan favourites are injured or
half-fit, add one too many drab draws from the ongoing first round and
the overall picture won’t convert football sceptics anytime soon. Hosts
South Africa managed to surrender a slender one-goal lead to Mexico,
breaking the hearts of vuvuzela-tooting fans nationwide.

Holland needed an
own goal from Denmark to jumpstart their campaign while Algeria and
Cameroon completed a hat trick of African teams to lose their opening
games, leaving Ghana to restore African pride. Even Germany beating
Australia by four goals failed to lift the spirits as it started to
feel a little like watching a minor friendly match. Italy in Group F
salvaged their pride to draw with Paraguay and underdogs New Zealand
scored a late goal to draw in their match against Slovakia. We almost
wish for a 3-yellow card fiasco, à la Graham Poll, to liven things up.
High expectations for big name players such as Didier Drogba, Cristiano
Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Wayne Rooney and Samuel Eto’o have so far come to
nothing. Between them they have scored a total of zero goals. These are
not encouraging statistics although Drogba may be excused as he only
came on as a substitute. As for Brazil, not only did they fail to score
in the first half of their first game against North Korea, their first
goal came from Maicon, a defender. These are indeed disturbing times. I
was asked if the problem might be the Jabulani – the official football
of the finals, but I hesitate to join the legion of cynics on this as I
have not had a chance to kick said ball in a competitive match.

Remembering Roger Milla

I have fond
memories of Roger Milla’s celebratory dance, debuted in Italia ‘90. The
same tournament that saw Cameroon emerge as the first African team to
reach the quarter finals of a World Cup and Salvatore Schillachi
showcase his scoring talent. USA ‘94 came next, where Nigeria made a
first appearance. Remember colourful (literally) characters like
Mexico’s goalkeeper, Jorge Campos, and Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov
leading the team to a fourth place finish. Then there was the Oleg
Salenko goal rain against Cameroon and Roberto Baggio’s missed penalty
in the final. Remember Sunday Oliseh’s goal in ‘98? How about Senegal
defeating France in 2002? We’re still watching the first round matches
and I am full of hope that things will pick up and we’ll get something
close to the atmosphere of previous mundials.

Could this be
linked to the Super Eagles’ loss to Argentina? On that day, we saw one
goalkeeper’s heroics and another’s humiliation. Vincent Enyeama was the
universal man of the match while England’s Rob Green was the opposite
of his Nigerian counterpart. There are calls for Enyeama to leave his
club in Israel for one in Europe but I feel he should stay put lest he
signs for a successful European club and becomes too big for his
football boots, leaving us without a disciplined shot stopper.

We face Greece later today and we are cheering on our boys to win the match. Go Super Eagles!

Switzerland pulled off the biggest
shock of the 2010 World Cup so far when they beat European champions
Spain 1-0 in Group H on Wednesday, their first ever victory over their
opponents in 19 games.

Gelson Fernandes’ goal after a mix up
in the Spanish defence gave the Swiss a shock 52nd minute lead and
Spain, for all their talent and guile, were unable to find a way
through the massed ranks of white Switzerland shirts.

The Swiss share the lead in Group H with Chile, who beat Honduras 1-0 earlier on Wednesday.

After a forgettable first half, the
Swiss looked like spending another 45 minutes defending for their lives
until goalkeeper Diego Benaglio’s long clearance was allowed to bounce
and Fernandes pounced when the ball emerged from a clutter of bodies.

The European champions, many pundits’
favourites to win the tournament, enjoyed a near monopoly of possession
for much of the game but were unable to convert the chances they
created.

Coach Vicente del Bosque, who had
started the match with David Villa as a lone striker, brought Fernando
Torres and Jesus Navas on after the goal to try and rescue the game but
they were unable to find a way through.

Xabi Alonso hit the underside of the
bar with a fine strike in the 70th minute, Navas shot lamely at Swiss
goalkeeper Benaglio when through on goal about a minute later, and
Gerard Pique squandered another chance on the next Spanish attack.

Eren Derdiyok, playing in place of his injured captain Alex Frei,
then jinked his way through the defence to almost double the Swiss lead
but, to the relief of the Spanish, his shot came bouncing back off the
post.

Neither the globe’s
most expensive soccer player, nor one of its most prolific marksmen
were able on Tuesday to remedy a worrying shortage of goals at Africa’s
first World Cup.

Both 80 million
pounds striker Cristiano Ronaldo, and goal machine Didier Drogba drew
blanks when Portugal and Ivory Coast played out a goalless Group G
encounter to add to the paucity of goals in South Africa so far. After
13 matches the net has bulged just 20 times, an average of 1.54 per
game, way below the 2.30 average for the whole of Germany 2006 and
higher figures in previous years. Portugal’s Ronaldo came closest when
he hit the post in Port Elizabeth with a thundering long range shot,
and Drogba came on as a second half substitute for the Ivory Coast
despite a fractured arm.

The day’s earlier
match produced only two goals when Slovakia and New Zealand drew 1-1 in
a Group F game. That clash of the outsiders in Rustenburg gave each
their first points in a World Cup as cold temperatures and pouring rain
hit the only winter edition of the tournament since 1978, even
extending to the tropical port of Durban.

Exceptional Germans

Only the German
side has shown real World Cup class so far with a 4-0 drubbing of
Australia on Sunday that will have surely struck fear into their big
name rivals. While South Africans continue to exude pride and
excitement at hosting the tournament, there was tragic news from
elsewhere on the continent. Residents of anarchic Somalia said Islamic
militants had killed two people and arrested 35 for breaking their
strict ban on watching the tournament on television.

Fairly Peaceful

While this
tournament has largely been problem free and filled with joy despite
the lack of goals, about 2,000 stadium stewards in Durban who clashed
with riot police in a protest over wages early on Monday were paid off
on Tuesday. Police said they were taking over security at Durban,
Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth stadiums because of the
dispute.

Dispute hasn’t been
restricted to labour issues, however, and controversy is growing among
players and coaches over the World Cup’s new ball, called the Jabulani.
Crosses, free-kicks and long-range shots have been skying over their
targets in the thin air. Another issue is the incessant whine of the
vuvuzelas with teams now experimenting with sign language, especially
when goalkeepers are trying to organise a defensive wall.

But the plastic trumpet clearly has some fans. An iPhone application
that copies the drone that has been compared to a swarm of giant bees
has been downloaded more than a million times. Even though the
application was designed in the Netherlands, this is unlikely to please
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk, the tournament’s chief curmudgeon and
most vociferous critic of the South African instrument.

Dogged as perennial
under achievers, Spain’s ambition to conquer the world will today
kick-off in Durban as the reigning European champions go head-on with
fellow Europeans, Switzerland.

In eighteen
attempts, the Swiss have never beaten Spain, managing only three draws.
The two teams first played in Berne in 1925 with the tie ending 3-0 in
favour of Spain. Both teams have also confronted each other twice in
the of the World Cup- during the first round in 1966 and the round of
16 in 1994 with Spain winning both ties 2-1 and 3-0.

Interestingly
Switzerland currently have an impressive defensive record that has seen
it not concede a goal at the FIFA World Cup for 394 minutes. The team
was eliminated from Germany 2006 without having let in a single goal,
the last time their defence let in a goal was when Spain’s Txiki
Beguiristain converted a penalty in the 86th minute of the Round of 16
matches in 1994 which Spain won 3-0.

Today’s match is
Spain’s 50th match at the FIFA World Cup, making them the seventh team
to reach this milestone after Brazil, Germany, Italy Argentina, England
and France. Having barely put a foot wrong in the last two years with a
long unbeaten run, which was only halted by the Americans at the
Confederation Cup held last year in South Africa, Spain will take the
stage at South Africa 2010 amid high expectation. Last week’s 6-0
demolition of Poland was a perfect way to round up preparations for a
side that has been boosted by the recent return to fitness of its key
players-Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas, both of whom have shaken off
worrying late-season injuries.

The Swiss
unfortunately have plenty of injury problems of their own to ponder.
Alexander Frei and Valon Behrami are definitely out, forcing coach
Ottmar Hitzfeld to reshuffle his pack. Switzerland’s recent form is
also a cause for concern, defeats by Costa Rica, Norway and Uruguay
having raised doubts about their ability to match their run to the last
16 at Germany 2006 – one they are hoping to repeat, at the very least,
this time around.

Second ticket

With Spain tipped
to top Group H, Chile and Honduras know they have little room for error
when both teams get their campaigns under way in Nelspruit later today.
On paper at least, the attacking prowess of Bielsa’s Chile may give
them the edge, given they were 32-goal top scorers in the South
American Zone. One concern, however, is the fitness of Real Zaragoza’s
Humberto Suazo, their ten-goal leading marksmen in qualifiers, who is
battling to recover from a muscle strain.

No host nation of
the World Cup has crashed out in the group stages of the competition.
That is the record South Africa will be having in mind as they play
their second match of the World Cup against South American opponent,
Uruguay, later today.

The match billed for Tshwane/Pretoria stadium is a must win for both sides to stand any chance of progressing from Group A.

Pretoria fortress

Coincidentally,
South Africa is unbeaten in the last five matches played in the City of
Pretoria before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with three victories and two
draws from their games.

However, the Bafana
Bafana have not beaten Uruguay in the two previous meetings between the
senior national teams. In 1997, the South Americans edged a 4-3 victory
in the FIFA Confederation Cup with a 90th minute goal by Christian
Callejas.

Subsequently, the
two-sides ground out a goal-less draw in a friendly match played out at
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, last year.

For the records
also, South American sides are yet to beat a host nation during the
first round of the FIFA World Cup. In 1966, Uruguay were held to a 0-0
draw by host and eventual champions England, while 1994 host, USA, were
2-1 winners over Colombia, and last edition’s host, Germany also
pounded Ecuador 3-0 in the group stages.

Crunch battle

Carlos Alberto
Parreira’s South Africa will definitely face a tough task against
Uruguay. In their opening game against France, the Uruguayans showed
that they possess the ability to contain teams and launch dangerous
counter-attacks.

Tabarez has hinted that against South Africa, they will be more adventurous compared to that safety-first approach.

Uruguay have been
preparing in Kimberley, a town famous for the surrounding gold mines,
but it is goals that Uruguay want after their stalemate with France,
hence, Tabarez’s decision to go with an extra striker in Edinson Cavani.

The South Africans
too want to improve on their finishing after the 1-1 draw with Mexico,
where striker Katlego Mphela missed a glorious chance in the dying
moments, watching in agony as his shot shaved the upright.

Fans to cheer

South Africa gave
their millions of home supporters cause for optimism with their opening
display against Mexico. When pressed against the ropes in the first 20
minutes, they were able to absorb the pressure and, having overcome the
stage fright that gripped them early on, found a head of steam in the
second half. It was a performance that served notice that the hosts
should not be taken lightly and the fact that they were less than 10
minutes from victory against an organised and polished Mexican side,
earned them rave reviews.

Thousands of vuvuzela-tooting supporters will be on hand at Loftus
Versfeld, the same pitch where Ghana beat Serbia 1-0 on Sunday, hoping
to make a little piece of history as the first African side to win a
World Cup finals match in Africa.

South Korean
players believe they have a chance of victory in Thursday’s game
against Argentina, with Manchester United midfielder, Park Ji-Sung,
insisting they are capable of causing an upset against the South
Americans.

Park, who was the
man-of-the-match against the Greeks, said his side have nothing to fear
if they can play with the same intensity they produced against the
Greeks in last Saturday’s 2-0 win.

“Argentina are the
best team in our group, but if we play as a team like we did (against
Greece), we’re capable of getting a result,” said Park, whose views
were backed by the team’s coach, Jung-Moo Huh.

Huh, who participated at Mexico 1986 as a player where he faced Diego Maradona, his rival in the dugout on Thursday, said:

“We’ll give it our best shot, because my players can only grow in stature against opponents of their calibre.

“Argentina are
among the favourites, but we have good players, too. In football, the
lesser teams are always capable of beating the bigger ones,” said the
55-year-old.

Stopping Messi

On Thursday, the
Koreans will be up against Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi, who
proved more than a handful for Nigeria’s defence in their opening game.

The current world
player of the year is someone who is capable of deciding the outcome of
matches all by himself and reports suggest that Huh, who used a 4-4-2
formation in the game against the Greeks, will switch to a more
defensive 4-2-3-1 line-up when his side face Messi and company on
Thursday.

With only Chu-Young Park expected to be up front against Argentina, it is obvious the emphasis will be on stopping Messi.

“We are scared of
Messi. We think that the only way to stop him is breaking his leg,”
joked South Korean goalkeeper, Sung-Ryoung Jung, in anticipation of
facing the Barcelona star.

Huh, on the other hand, invoked the story in the Bible of David and Goliath in giving his team a fighting chance.

“We all know what the bible says, and who fell. If we can defend
well, we do not have to give up the match as a lost cause,” said Huh.

Greece
were disappointing in their 2-0 loss to South Korea, but they say they
are ready to put that embarrassing defeat behind them ahead of
Thursday’s match against the Super Eagles who they believe they are
capable of beating.

According to
striker, Dimitris Salpingidis, they have the quality to bounce back
from their opening defeat and stay alive in South Africa. “We have
quality, and we’re not out of the tournament yet.

There’s still two
games to play. We still have dreams and we’ll do our best to make them
continue,” said the Panathinaikos star. “Like us, Nigeria lost their
opening match. They’re a very good team, very physical, strong and
fast, a quality outfit. Nigeria work well as a team and created chances
against Argentina. They’re very good when they play the ball in attack.
But we have also shown in recent years that in big matches we have a
compact defence with a quick counter-attack, that’s the way we play.”

Overcoming the jinx

If the Greeks
defeat the Super Eagles, it will be their first ever win at the World
Cup, even though they also remain in search of their first World Cup
goal having failed to hit the back of the net at their only other World
cup appearance back in 1994 when they scored none and conceded 10,
including two to the Super Eagles.

The team’s coach,
Otto Rehhagel, faced rare criticism from the Greek media after
Saturday’s loss but Salpingidis down played those criticism, saying:
“Statistics are for the media. On the pitch you don’t think about past
results, but in every match you try to win. We’re playing in the
greatest tournament in the world. We’re trying to be happy and enjoy
the competition and give the fans something to cheer about.”

His teammate,
Vassilis Torosidis, however played down the prospect of his country’s
revival at the World Cup, saying a “transformation” ahead of the key
match against Nigeria is not possible. The 25-year-old Torosidis said
the defence-minded Greeks will redouble their efforts for Thursday’s
encounter at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein but are unlikely to
undergo any radical change.

“To be honest, there can be no transformation in five days, not for
any team,” the defender said. “What we need to be is very stubborn and
to show this on the pitch. Even if we don’t win, we won’t be
disappointed as long as we play well.”